Poetry Pages and Toy Sites

Saturday, January 5, 2013

A post I read in December of last year (2012) that likened social media behavior to that of the legendary Sword of Damocles keeps cropping into my head—it was about internet cursing—you know—potty mouth. Having been subjected to a few online unpleasantries may be the reason this topic stuck with me…as if beckoning… coaxing… beseeching me to respond by writing on the subject myself. Thus… Here goes…

As a Virginia youngster, I remember living on a street where everyone knew who everyone else was. I recall walking along the sidewalk saying, “Good morning” or “Hello” or speaking some form of salutation to neighborly women sitting on their porches—perhaps in outdoor rockers. I also recall passing by one house on a day my mind ventured elsewhere [possibly on candy I hoped to purchase at the store] causing me to fail to speak. One elderly woman exercised her authorityto point out my rude behavior. Immediately, I said hello and zipped passed her house as quickly as I could hoping she would not tell my mother I had been disrespectful.

Can you believe that? A four-year-old showing disrespect simply by not greeting porch-dwellers!? [Why was I walking the streets alone at age four? You might wonder… Short answer… The neighborhood was safe enough to allow me to go solo to the store around the corner. But that’s another story…]

Anywho… When the internet anti-cursing article struck me again this morning, I began to consider the fact that too many people, in general, living in the United States seem to believe they have licenses to act any way they please, toward anyone they please, and to have no qualms about it. From what I read and hear in the news, this problem appears to exist in other countries as well. Why is this so? I asked myself. How did things change from the days during which I was expected to behave as a polite little girl; and eventually… a respectful young lady? What became of the days wherein, along with my harmonizing siblings, we covered our lips and cried, “Ooo!! He said a badword!” in response to, then, uncommon bleeps sounding from television speakers.

Young people today may not realize that a time ACTUALLY EXISTED wherein children were EXPECTED to do what they were told… and it mattered NOT what adult was doing the telling. Wherein they hada place… and they stayed in their place unless allowed by an adult to venture from it… They were seen but NOT heard as it was called.

Well…

Obviously!

Those days are >>>long >>>gone!

Today… children are not only both seen AND heard—but many—far too many—are right up in adult business! This fact is evident if you listen to their conversations.

Many amongst us believe things would be better were it not for outside influences such as racy music… television… websites… movies… FAST poorly raised kids next door or at school… and virtually ANY outside influence one can muster up as an excuse for the fact that (sorry but) many parents fail to properly raise their children. But then… Proper to one parent may not mean the same thing as it does to another… One parent may think adult swearing in the home while children are present is okay—but the kids had better not repeat those words! While another parent finds comfort in practicing what they preach...

Contemplating the issue, my perspective tells me the baby boomer generation is largely responsible for this dilemma—at least in the US.

It seems to me that during the time of drugs, sex, and alcohol… the period of letting it all hang out… It’s your thang do what you want… boomers either began or accelerated the notion that no one tells their children what to do… That their children did NOT have to listen to… orobeysome other adult’s disciplinary instructions… and in fact, many of these parents would curse out other adults and tell them to mind their business for stepping in when a parent was unavailable!

“If my kids wanna run into the street when speeding trucks are coming… That’s their prerogative!”

Okay… Perhaps that was a bit over the top but when children are not required to respect authority… regardless of what adult lips from which authoritative language speaks… why wouldn’t they willfully put themselves in danger if their immature little brains lacked good sense?!

The point is that when children jump the rungs from delicate little souls enjoying the innocent beauties of life to overgrown little adults unrecognizable by their own parents who nourished them to be that way, the end result should not be unexpected!

So many parents take children to PG movies when G rated shows would suffice and R movies when PG flicks would be enough. Despite precautionary measures devised to protect browsing youngsters, many parents forego parental settings while at the same time placing unmonitored computers—complete with internet availability—at children’s disposal…often times… locked behind closed doors of tender-minded bedrooms… In addition, many parents eagerly provide their children cell phones from which many speak in codes most adults cannot interpret… and… Let’s not leave out the many proud parents among us who provide infinite satellite television channels along with their refined speaker boxes from which youngsters’ eyes and ears and minds and psyches feast upon at will…

But then…

Who can blame parents for wanting their children to HAVE EVERYTHING!!?

To be IN!?

To NOT to be deprived!?

After all—No one wants squares for kids!

No one wants their children picked on because they don’t have their own cell phone or laptop or [these days] tablet for crying OUT LOUD!! These are necessities of life; and attending R rated movies—complete with adult material including cursing of course—at age eight may be MANDATORY in a kids’ life! Besides—why should it be a BIG deal if EVERY other HIP elementary school kid has already seen that racy flick anyway!!

So…

What’s a parent to do???

What’s society to do???

Perhaps we should do what so many parents who manage to spoil their children with today’s necessities, and yet, are still able to raise respectful, responsible human beings, that are less likely to hide behind internet [in]security when it comes to their online interactions do.

Not wanting my children to find solace in acting out if only adults other than their parents were available to realign them, I taught them to do as adults told them except under certain circumstances—resist immoral and illegal commands…of course… If at any time my children felt they were wronged… singled out… unfairly called out, they were to let me know. I am the parent. Dealing with disciplinary mishaps is MY job NOT theirs!

Following my own belief that it is wrong for children to be seen but not heard… I adopted my own philosophy that children should be observed and intellectually acclimated. I believe that arming children with intelligent ways of expressing themselves lessens the chances they will stoop to using four-letter-words, both on and off the internet. So far as I can tell, this mode of raising children has worked for ALL FIVE of my kids—and yes… I do check their online posts and TELL them of ANY that appear even remotely offensive!

Life is always shifting…

Ever-changing societal rules—written and instinctual—play hard and fast in efforts to continually modify the game…

Technologies—past and present—persist in dictating human behavior…

Offspring to this world we call Earth—provided to them by their parents… at whatever state the climate when each child enters it, learns to mow their chosen path…

In closing...Regardless of the circumstances in which we arrive on this great planet, we all, at some point in our lives, decide for ourselves whether to remain on a road or cross over to the other side; and in the end—when it comes to our flaring usage of language—whether we appear as pigs acting like swine or notables behaving like scum swayed by behind-the-screen internet temptations to partake in potty mouth, awaiting and defying the sword of the Damoclean Pot is totally up to us—individually—so we may assume—for—as many of us understand—there exists a catch 22 attached to the act of assumption—instituting the possibility that consequences, or lack thereof, may really depend upon our bosses should their swords lead NOT to blood—but to our paychecks!!

2 comments:

Renee--a brilliant article. Well spoken--well said--and how true. I'm delighted that you wrote this, and I'm proud that the 'Damoclean POT' encouraged you to write this. Thank you so much for the link too! Happy New YEAR! ~Raymond

About Me

I like to write on various subjects and thus have a few blogs in which to express my points of view as well as to share fun and helpful stuff... } Some topics may assume to get one's goat as I strive not to invoke boredom... My published works include children's poetry found in educational materials at StudyIsland.com as well as Marshall Cavendish Texts, Workbooks, and Audio Recordings.

Subscribe Now! 2 Keep up with my info...

Search This Blog

Advanced Reader eBooks

Radiation traces found in California milk

Traces of radiation found in California milk said not to be problematic to the public at this time. The amounts detected suggested consumers would have to drink gallons upon gallons of milk in a day in order to be impacted by radiation at these tiny amounts. Daily Breeze Report on the subject.

Twitter

Copyrighted Content

Unless otherwise noted, all content on this blog bears copyright protections for author R. Renée Bembry.If you would like to use data from this blog, contact SillyMommy@MyStoriesAndPoems.com for use permissions.

Total Pageviews

Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice to Renées Good Health Articles & More visitors:Please be aware that third-party vendors, such as Google, may use cookies at this blogpost in order to promote ads based on user experience. Currently, Google uses a cookie called DART so that Google, as well as its partners, may promote ads based on visits to this website, as well as other internet websites. Users preferring not allow Google, or other third-party advertisers, to use DART cookies to promote ads while visiting this, or other internet websites and blogs, may opt out of the use of cookies. Users choosing to opt out of DART cookies may do so at the advertising opt-out page. Users may opt of third-party cookies, in general at the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.